not like gold in your dreams
by roseatesky
Summary: even with the ring worth millions on her finger, she couldn't forget about the plastic one hidden in her drawer. – natsu/lucy (WoFT Writing Challenge)


**not like gold in your dreams**

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_i'm not perfect, but i swear,  
i'm perfect for you._

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**ONCE **upon a time, there was a blonde little girl, who was best friends with a hyperactive little boy. They did everything together; played together, ate together, did homework together… the two were inseparable. Nothing could ever tear them apart.

Well, that is, until the boy's family moved away.

* * *

"_Natsu!" A little girl squealed, opening the gift he had for her. It was Christmas, and both families were spending it together. The two friends were outside, because they wanted to make snowmen._

_That was when he had given her his gift, which was wrapped up in a small box. At first, Lucy had been slightly disappointed to see how small it was, but when she had opened it, she literally tackled Natsu to the ground, hugging him as tightly as he hugged her._

_And what was the gift? Two small rings, colored gold, but obviously plastic. Natsu had been nervous to give it to her, especially because it looked ugly compared to the tons of rings that the girl usually wore as accessories._

_But with her on him, hugging him, telling him that it was the best gift ever, and that he was the best friend ever, Natsu couldn't help but feel proud that he bought it._

_Lucy excitedly put it on her finger, before looking confusedly at the box. "Natsu?" She asked blankly, "why're there two rings in the box?"_

_To be honest, Natsu had no idea. He explained what he knew to her. "It came in a set, and dad said that rings always came in twos. You couldn't have one without the other, so I gave you both!"_

_The blonde was still confused, then grinned brightly again. "Well, I don't need both, so you can have one too!" She handed the ring to him, and put it on his finger. "Mama always told me that rings are a promise to be together forever, like she and daddy have! So, this means we'll always be together, okay Natsu?"_

_After staring at the blonde for a minute, the boy smiled too. "Yeah, Luce! Together forever!"_

Three months later, Natsu left, without a word. When Lucy turned fifteen, she ran away from home, and eight years later, she settled down in Magnolia.

* * *

"LU-CHAN! YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED TODAY, SO WAKE UP, OR I'LL CALL ERZA TO WAKE UP YOUR SORRY ASS!"

From underneath the covers, a blonde groaned, her head hurting, the light blinding her eyes. "Levy go away, just give me five minutes," she had muttered, but apparently, the blue-haired woman, who used to be so kind, did not understand pillow language, and instead pulled the cover away from the blonde's form.

"Nooo, Levy turn off the lights! It's too _bright!_" The girl groaned, hiding her head under the pillow, which was also pulled away from her.

"That, dear Lucy, isn't the lights, it's the sun. Now, remember this, the sun is bright so it can _tell lazy butts like you when to wake up!_ Now listen to the damn thing, because it has more sense than you do, you dumb cow!"

Muttering a few choice words, the blonde got up from her bed. She glared at the blue-haired woman, who was already throwing clothes for her to wear. "Pregnancy does a number on you, Levy-chan," the blonde mumbled, looking at her best friend in annoyance. Then, in a louder tone, "I shouldn't be _too _surprised, though. Gajeel _is _the father…"

Levy rolled her eyes. "At least I'm happy, Lu-chan. You, on the other hand, don't seem to be that happy about getting married- _at all_." A bright pink top was thrown her way. "Now come on, we need to go to the venue so you can change."

Lucy opened her mouth to retort, but begrudgingly shut up. Levy was right, after all. While on her travels, she had met a boy who, to put it lightly, fell in love with her at first sight. In fact, the first thing he said to her was, "Let's get married, you and I!"

Of course, she tried to tell him to go away, but it never worked. The boy followed her around until she moved to Magnolia, where she also met Levy, and her now-husband, Gajeel. Feeling pressured by their relationship, Lucy had given in to dating her 'stalker'.

Three months later, they got engaged.

Lucy Heartfilia, the to-be wife of Dan Straight.

She couldn't lie when she shivered a bit (in discomfort) at the thought of becoming his wife. After all, Lucy knew for sure that she didn't love Dan, in fact, her heart was stolen from her years ago…

"DAMN IT, LUCY! IF YOU TAKE ANY LONGER IN THE SHOWER, I WILL RIP OFF YOUR NOVEL AND CLAIM IT AS MY OWN!"

* * *

After an hour of fighting, the two were finally on their way to the church. Lucy sighed; she had always imagined that her wedding would be the happiest day of her life, but now, why was it that all she wanted was to run away?

She glanced at the ring Dan had given her; it was, to put it simply, all she ever wanted. It was gold, with a single diamond on it. Engraved inside was her name, and his. It was the ring she wrote about in her diary (which Dan had actually read, not that Lucy would ever know). The ring was beautiful; perfect, even. But somehow, it felt wrong.

Somehow, she couldn't stop thinking about the ring that was given to her almost fifteen years ago.

"_Well, I don't need both, so you can have one too!"_

"_So, this means we'll always be together, okay Natsu?"_

"_Yeah, Luce! Together forever!"_

A bitter smile reached Lucy's face as she remembered. _'That stupid idiot, he probably lost the ring I gave him. He's probably giving a ring to another girl…'_ Somehow, the thought made Lucy's stomach uneasy. Of course, Lucy had liked Natsu in the past, but for some reason, even though it's been years since they last saw each other, he was still as present as ever in her head.

Did he forget about her? Or did he remember her? Why'd he ignore her? Was she too clingy? Was he too embarrassed to be friends with a girl? Did he hate her?

The questions about him never stopped, and they bugged her every day, every night. It was painful. "Lu-chan?"

Lucy snapped out of her daze when Levy stared at her questioningly. "What?"

"We're here."

The car stopped at a church, decorated in shades of white. It was, simpy put, beautiful.

Her stomach dropped.

* * *

People filled the benches, as Erza, who had forced Lucy to make her the wedding organizer (as Levy was already the maid-of-honor), rushed to make sure everything was completely perfect.

The wedding was about to start.

Music played in the background, and Lucy held her head up. It was time for her to walk down the aisle. Taking a deep breath, she started forward.

The first thing Lucy thought when she entered was, _'Wow, the designs are really pretty. I should really thank Erza.' _The next was, _'Mavis, since when did I know so many people?' _And the last was,_'Hey… that boy has pink hair, like Natsu. Hahaha… Wait… HOLY SHIT IT __**IS**__ NATSU."_

And that, in a nutshell, was the reason why Lucy Heartfilia, all dressed in white, fell flat on her face.

Levy ran to help her immediately, and was about to, when Lucy stood up by herself, and laughed it all off. Not the normal type of laugh though, it was the type that was long, and loud, and _awkward_. "HAHAHAHHA! Please, _please_, tell me this isn't happening."

She looked back at Natsu, who caught her gaze. In a second, she snapped her head away. "ALL RIGHT!" she suddenly shouted. "I'm sorry! Let's uh, let's pretend this _never happened_, and get on with it!" Everyone looked at her blankly, but Erza, as prepared as ever, quickly told the ensemble to continue playing the wedding march.

When Lucy reached the aisle, she looked towards the entrance. Dan requested that to have his own grand appearance too, so here she was, waiting for him to come.

One second…

Five seconds…

A minute…

Ten minutes…

_Where the hell was he?!_

People started whispering, and a drop of sweat fell down Lucy's face. '_Dan Straight, I am going to kill you…' _She looked awkwardly, as everyone stared at her. Was she just left at the aisle?

No, Dan wouldn't do that. In fact, it was more likely that _she _would leave _him _at the aisle, not the other way around.

She glanced at her phone, and saw a text from her supposed-to-be _fiancée_.

_Lulu-chamaa! I met a new love, Angel-pyon! I'm sorry for leaving you at the altar, but it wasn't meant to be~_

Under it was a picture of a white-haired woman, obviously taken _without _her permission. Lucy dropped her phone.

Great! Even her own stalker decided that she wasn't good enough. Was she really doomed to be single forever?

Sighing, Lucy walked back up to the aisle, to the microphone. "Good morning everybody!" She greeted, "I'm sorry, but my fiancée has done the _leave the girl at the altar _bit, so there'll be no wedding today. I apologize, but there's a buffet, so you're welcome to enjoy yourselves!"

The crowd was speechless, but after only a few moments, they all stood up, heading to the dining hall. Well, that's what they could have done, until a curiously haired boy ran to the blonde.

… and kissed the now _not _bride-to-be.

As they parted, Lucy only stared, before whacking him with her bouquet. "I just got dumped by my fiancée and you go kissing me?!"

Natsu scratched his head, an awkward grin on his face. "Well, I didn't want you to get married, and my plan was to say 'I object!' at that part where I should, but then he left you at the aisle, so I didn't know what to do, so I improvised."

For some reason, Lucy's heart skipped a beat. "W-What do you mean you don't want me to get married?"

The boy only looked down, a blush on his cheeks. "What do you think? It means I _kindasortalikeyou_."

In reply, a full-fledged blush appeared on Lucy's cheeks, as she looked down bashfully. "Well, I _kindasortalikeyoutoo_."

Natsu's whole expression brightened up, as he leaned in to kiss her, only to meet with her hand. "Wha-?"

Lucy huffed. "Just because I admitted to liking you doesn't mean you can kiss me. We're not even dating yet!"

Natsu paused, and then grinned. "That's your only problem, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

And then Lucy saw Natsu on one knee, eyes bright, wearing a playful smile. "Natsu… what the hell…"

Taking a ring from his pocket, he grinned. "Lucy Heartfilia, marry me?"

She was about to say no, until she saw the ring. It was plastic, given on a Christmas day, with a promise of forever. "You still have that?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, smiling. "Duh, it's my lucky charm… and hopefully, it'll give me a girl that'll make me the luckiest man alive." He grinned toothily. "Now stop ignoring the question and say 'yes'."

"This is completely unconventional, you know," Lucy pouted, staring at him judgmentally. "I mean, I _barely know you anymore_," she added, before a smile broke into her lips. "But I'm already in this dress, and it'd be unconventional to waste all of this, so… _yes_."

"Great!" He grinned, then looked at the priest, who stared back confusedly. "Hey priest dude, let's get this started!"

The priest coughed, then nodded. "I- uhh- sure. What's your name?"

"Natsu," he grinned. "Natsu Dragneel."

"Okay," he said, then sighed in preparation. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today for the wedding of-"

"Wait!" Natsu suddenly interrupted. "Skip that, and let's get to the vows part."

The priest was about to interject, until he sighed in defeat. "Fine, then do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," Lucy replied, a smile on her face.

"Now," he said turning to Natsu, "do you take this woman as-"

"Yeah, yeah, I do," he said, then grinned, scooping Lucy up in his arms. "Can we kiss now?"

Lucy giggled, then smiled at him. "Sure."

And as the priest called them 'man and wife,' the two kissed, happy to find each other again.

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**i. **without this a/n, i went _below_ the word count. TAKE THAT!  
**ii. **this was supposed to be waaay longer but i deleted more than half to pass the contest.  
**iii. **if it seems rushed, it's cause i can't work with word counts. heh.  
**iv. **the ending with lucy and natsu actually marrying is _seriously rushed _but it works, right?  
**v. **most people won't get this, but HA! i don't need your _este_nsion so I WIN.

— sarah.


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